Welcome to Butterflies of Massachusetts! This website offers
a comprehensive review of the status of butterflies in the state. It is designed
for everyone interested in these beautiful creatures, including butterfly enthusiasts,
conservationists, biologists, land managers, and wildlife professionals.

NEWSFLASH --2/2015 -- The complete content of
the Butterflies of Massachusetts website is now available for purchase in print
and cd formats!
See below for details.

******

Species Accounts cover most butterfly species normally occurring in the state. Click
here to choose a
Species. Each account includes (1) History and Abundance in
the 1800s and 1900s; (2) Host Plants and Habitat; (3) Relative Abundance Today;
(4) State Distribution and Locations, including Maps of sightings by town; (5) Broods and Flight Periods
in Massachusetts 1991-2013, including earliest and latest sightings and flight
time advancement; and (6) Conservation Outlook, including the probable
impact of climate warming.

Species of
Conservation Concern This analysis indicates that
twenty-eight butterfly species, almost a quarter of the state's butterfly
species, warrant conservation concern.. Only eight of these are currently
protected under the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act.

*******

Sources
and Methods This
section briefly reviews the history of butterfly study in the state and explains
the data sources and procedures used in this study. Historical
accounts are based on a review of Massachusetts specimens in the Harvard Museum
of Comparative Zoology and other major museums, plus various private collections
and extensive published sources (published literature cited may be found here). Contemporary abundance, distribution and flight time results are based on 23 years of
high-quality citizen science data: the 1991-2013
observational and photographic records kept by the Massachusetts Butterfly Club (MBC) and
Butterflies of Massachusetts (BOM). Included are over 100,000 vetted reports from the 'masslep' listserve, the BAMONA website, the season
summaries of The Lepidopterists' Society, and private reports sent to BOM. Data from the Massachusetts Audubon
Society's important 1986-90 Butterfly Atlas is included; use of their database
is gratefully acknowledged. The Methods section
includes Table 4: MBC Trip Reports and Records Totals, and Table 5: MAS Butterfly Atlas-MBC
Relative Abundance Comparisons.

Butterfly History and Future Dramatic changes in the New England landscape over time have meant
changes in butterfly habitats. The Ice Age, postglacial warming, the
expansion of agriculture 1600-1850, and subsequent urban and suburban growth
have all been accompanied by changes in butterfly species composition. The
earliest Massachusetts lepidopterists, Thaddeus W. Harris (1795-1856) and Samuel
H. Scudder (1837-1911) were describing a butterfly community at the height of
agricultural development in the state, with likely more species than in the
pre-agricultural era. The broad changes in butterfly
abundance and life history over time are summarized in the species accounts and in four tables: Table 1: Butterflies which may have Increased or
Decreased 1650 - 1850 as a result of agricultural and other development.
Table 2: Butterflies which may have Decreased 1900-2000 due to loss of
open habitat, or Increased due to immigration, adaptation to new host plants, or re-growth of early successional habitat. Table 3:
Switchers: Butterflies known to have adapted to a non-native host plant in
addition to, or instead of, their original native host. Approximately a
quarter of our butterflies are now dependent on non-native larval host plants. Table 6: Species
likely to increase or decrease in Massachusetts as a result of climate warming.
Massachusetts is currently experiencing range contractions in northern-based
species and range expansions in southern-based species.

Today, our land conservation and management efforts need be
more targeted toward monitoring and conserving uncommon and at risk butterfly
species. Among the greatest risks is climate change, which is already
affecting our butterfly fauna.

******

NEW! NEW! NEW! BOM
is pleased to announce that the content of this website is now available in two
additional formats:

1. A handsome paperbound book, The Butterflies of
Massachusetts: their history and future is now available from
Amazon.com and other book retailers, for approximately $58. This full
color, 8.5 x 11, 488 page reference volume will be a wonderful addition to your
bookshelf or coffee table.

2. The Butterflies of Massachusetts is also
available as a handy compact disc, packaged in a jewel case. The cost is
US$14.00, which includes US postage. To order, send name, mailing address, and
a check made out to Sharon Stichter to:

This website will not be available forever! We urge
you to order your permanent copy today.

*******

Butterflies of Massachusetts is written by Sharon Stichter,
Ph.D., with the
assistance of Lynette Leka (data analysis), Erik Nielsen (records and analysis),
and Joe Teixeira (maps). For information contact
sharonstichter2@comcast.net . The Butterflies of Massachusetts
is produced in cooperation with the Massachusetts Butterfly Club,
http://www.massbutterflies.org , a chapter of
the North American Butterfly Association. Butterflies of
Massachusetts extends grateful thanks to the Massachusetts Butterfly Club
for the use of its database and for support and encouragement over the years.